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Showing 376 to 400 of 4938 results

376. The Kings of the South and the North

Daniel 11:2-35

Understanding Series

William Nelson

The Final Revelation--The Body: We enter now into the body of the last main revelation of the book of Daniel. There has been some progression in the visions of the book from a more general scope, encompassing larger blocks of history, to a more narrow focus on shorter periods of time. So, for example, Daniel 2 spans four and a half centuries by outlining the four human empires of Babylonia, Media, Persia, and Greece, which are swept away by the fifth—the eternal kingdom of God. Aside from the fact that the ...

377. Stand Up and Be Counted

Daniel 3:1-30

Sermon

James Merritt

The Olympics are coming to Atlanta. The Olympic Flame is coming through America. But Cobb County, in Atlanta, has been declared off limits to the Olympic Flame. Why? Because of this resolution that was passed by five Cobb County Commissioners: Whereas, the Cobb County Commission is legally charged with protection of the safety, health, and welfare of the community; and Whereas, there are increasing assaults on those community standards which further the protection of the public safety, health, and welfare ...

378. Comfortable Christianity Is a Big, Fat Lie

Matthew 7:15-23

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

“Thus you will know them by their fruits.” Matthew 7:20 In his novel A Painted House, John Grisham describes a pious Sunday school teacher eulogizing a character named Jerry Sisco. He was a mean guy who’d been killed just the night before in a back alley fight after picking on one person too many. In the words of the little boy who’d seen the fight with his friend Dewayne: "She made Jerry sound like a Christian, an innocent victim. I glanced at Dewayne, who had an eye on me. There was something odd about ...

379. Going Hard against the Grain

Matthew 5:33-37

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

Perhaps you have heard the story of the star-thrower, first published by Loren Eiseley in his 1969 book The Unexpected Universe. He tells of walking along a beach "littered with the debris of life.... Along the strip of wet sand that marks the ebbing and flowing of the tide, death walks hugely and in many forms. In the end the sea rejects its offspring. They cannot fight their way home through the surf which casts them repeatedly back upon the shore. The tiny breathing spores of starfish are stuffed with ...

380. Living Deliberately

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Our scripture lesson is taken from the 10th chapter of the Gospel of John, beginning with the 7th and reading through the 18th verses. I’m reading from the Revised Standard Version. This is the word of the Lord. “So Jesus again said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not heed them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and ...

381. Chief Among Sinners

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Jill J. Duffield

Zacchaeus’ parents must have had high hopes for their son. They named him Zacchaeus, after all, which means, “righteous one, pure one.” A name, as it turns out, which was rather ironic because he grew up to be the chief tax collector, not just a tax collector, but that person in charge of other tax collectors, the chief among cheats who extorted the exploiters and as a result got rich. I wonder if people rolled their eyes when they saw this short man coming to get the fees, fines, and burdens imposed by ...

382. The Coat Of Many Colors

Genesis 37:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

A man wrote in to the "Clean Laughs" online board with this story: "I was in my wills and trusts course when the professor posed this question to the students: Why do people choose to have their children, rather than their siblings, inherit their estate? "After students offered various theories, one fellow raised his hand. "˜This may be a bit off the point,' he said, "˜but when I was little, when my brother and sister finished playing with me, they would put me into a drawer.'" (1) Most of us can relate to ...

383. Overseers and Deacons

1 Timothy 3:1-16

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

Qualifications for Overseers To this point, Paul has addressed some concerns related to the community at worship and corrected some abuses generated by the activities of the erring elders. Now he turns to the elders themselves and sets forth some qualifications for “office.” He begins, in verses 1–7, with a group called episkopoi (“overseers”); then moves in verses 8–13 to a group called diakonoi (“servants,” “deacons”), with a note also about some “women” in verse 11. It is altogether likely that both “ ...

384. Identification and a Wish for Grace and Peace

Galatians 1:1-10

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

1:1 As in all of his letters Paul begins by identifying himself as the sender. In ancient times a letter typically began with the writer’s self-identification, and the opening commonly continued by naming the addressees and wishing them good health. In Paul’s letters, this typical wish is replaced by a wish for grace and peace. In the opening of Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches, as in most of his other letters, Paul identifies himself as an apostle (cf. Rom. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; and, if ...

385. Let Us Cross To The Other Side

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Ron Lavin

The sea - the turbulent, unpredictable, wild, stormy sea. Our story begins with Jesus, standing on the edge of the Sea of Galilee, saying to the apostles, "Let us cross to the other side." As they crossed, the wind began to blow, the waves began to rise, and Jesus began to sleep. Have you ever been in a storm at sea or on a wind-tossed lake? One sea captain describes a storm at Cape Horn at the tip of South America like this: This mighty swell of waters that giant forces seem to be pressing upon us, this ...

386. Trash Cans or Treasure Chests

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Grace and peace, sisters and brothers, and the One who is, from the One who was, and from the One who is to come. Good evening, saints. Good evening, sinners. We are all here. And all that we are is here. I am delighted to be here. Have you had a good summer? How many of you had guests this summer? Quite a few of you. Do you know what the three most beautiful lights are in the world? Sunlight, moonlight, and taillights. I am about "guested" out. I have had a great summer. I have been writing at home. I ...

387. Will You Dance the Metanoia with Me?

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Every generation has a signature dance. You might even say that every generation must live with its own “dorky dance” stigma. Anyone remember the “Twist?” The “Conga?” The “Hokey Pokey?” The “Funky Chicken?” About fifteen years ago you could not go anywhere — a party, a wedding reception, a baseball game — without being bullied to “Do the Macarena with Me.” The Macarena might have been a good ice-breaker at youth camps, or a way to get your blood moving again during the Seventh Inning Stretch. But is was ...

388. Joy Giver

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

James Merritt

[Open gift of stopwatch] Christmas is my favorite time of the year, but like many of us it is absolutely one of the busiest times of the year. If there is ever a season where you always feel like you are short on time, where you get frustrated and angry in having to wait in line, and where you almost feel like right up to the holiday you are trying to enjoy, you still can’t get it all done - it is Christmas! Christmas is so different when you are a child as to when you are an adult. When I was a child, it ...

389. Trials and Temptations

James 1:1-18, James 1:19-27

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

Wisdom for Life’s Tests 1:1 The letter from James opens with a simple and direct greeting. The writer identifies himself simply as James, a servant of God. There was only one James so well known in the early church that he would need no other form of identification, and that was James the Just, brother of Jesus, leader of the church in Jerusalem. The readers are expected to recognize the name. Yet for all his prominence and important position in the church (so important that the letter from Jude begins, “ ...

390. Listening and Doing

James 1:19-27, James 1:1-18

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

391. The Bridge

John 1:1-18, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 1:26-38, Genesis 3:1-24

Drama

H. J. Hizer

Narrator: Opening: Genesis 3:8-15 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him "Where are you?" And he said "I heard the sound of thee in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself." He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat ...

392. “Blessed Are Those Who Have Regard for the Weak; the Lord Delivers Them”

Psalm 41:1-13

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Irrespective of the cause of our illnesses, the Lord cares for us in our vulnerability. Understanding the Text The literary type of Psalm 41 has been the topic of much discussion, since the poem does not seem to fall easily into any single type. Perhaps Kraus’s “prayer song of the sick”1 is appropriate for this psalm, although we might simply designate it as an individual lament. The psalm, in fact, begins with a benediction on those who “have regard for” the sick (see the comments on 41:1). ...

393. A Call to Persevere

Hebrews 10:19-39

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

The Grounds for Faithfulness With his central theological argument concluded, the author turns now to some practical applications of what he has so effectively argued. Thus, as is true throughout his epistle, he is never content simply to present theology without showing its practical relevance to his readers. Indeed, he has had his Jewish readers in mind through all the argumentation of the preceding section. But now he comes again to their immediate situation. In this section he draws together motifs ...

394. Endorsing The Future

Sermon

Harold Warlick

One of the first things you do when you move to a new place is establish a checking account with a local bank. We can all tell stories of inexperienced people and their checking account problems. I remember a student who wrote check after check, only to discover he had no money left in his account. In exasperation he explained to the teller, "But I still have some checks left." My sister-in-law, during her first semester in college, receiveda notice from the bank that she was $27.60 overdrawn in heraccount ...

395. Yearning For Rejection; Thriving On Insults

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

A young single man checked into a Hilton Hotel. A card left on his pillow said, "Turn down service available, 7-10 p.m." The message meant that a housekeeper was available to turn down the covers on the bed during those hours. This young man saw a different message. "Why would you ever want a service like that?" he asked. "A turn down service ” unless you have incredibly low self-esteem." He added, "Usually my turn downs come long before 7 p.m.." Have you ever been turned down? Rejected? Insulted? A group ...

396. Repentance Is Relationship!

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

Repentance is relationship. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a short story titled, The Birthmark. It is a story about a man who married a very beautiful woman who had a birthmark on her left cheek. She had always thought of it as a beauty spot, but her husband saw the birthmark to be a sign of imperfection, a flaw. It began wearing on him so much that all he could see was that birthmark. He could not see her beauty, her graciousness, or her great personality. He could only focus on what he perceived to be a flaw ...

397. Quitters

John 6:60-71

Sermon

King Duncan

There is a time-honored story about a football game featuring two mismatched teams. One team was much larger than the other. The larger team was dominating the game, severely intimidating the smaller team in the process. The hitting was fierce. The smaller team had one player, however, who might make a difference. His name was Calhoun and he was the fastest running back in the league. His coach felt that if Calhoun could get any blocking at all, he could easily break free and outrun the larger players. The ...

398. Where Is Your Pebble?

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of you will remember country comedian Jerry Clower. Besides being a funny story-teller, Clower, who died in 1998, was a deeply religious man. He tells of an occasion when he invited Sue, his 14-year-old daughter, and one of her friends to go with him on a trip to the Country Music Awards show in Hollywood. He listed for Sue some of the celebrities she would meet if she went, some of the best-known entertainers at that time. Sue’s response? She said, “Daddy, I love you and I’m so glad that you would ...

399. Changed Lives - The Woman at the Well

John 4:1-26

Sermon

King Duncan

One day a jet airline left Washington, D.C., with the destination of Columbia, South Carolina. On board was a counselor traveling to Columbia for a mental health conference at the University of South Carolina. The counselor was an atheist. Somewhere during the flight the pilot discovered the landing gear was stuck. That meant trouble. He turned the plane and headed for Greensboro, North Carolina. There was a facility there where mechanics on the ground could give instructions to the pilot by radio and make ...

400. Whatever Became of Sin?

Romans 5:12-21

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

Death pervaded the whole human race, inasmuch as all men have sinned. But, its effect is vastly exceeded by the grace of God and the gift that came to so many by the grace of one man, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:12, 15 NEB). Paul puts it more succinctly in 1 Corinthians 15:21: "As by man came death, by man comes also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive." William Barclay explains: "Sin had man in its power. There was no hope. Into this situation there came ...

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